WAP · Backup & Recovery Module

Reading your database like a

sediment
core

Scientists read Earth’s history layer by layer from an ocean sediment core. Whaleal Platform’s backup module
turns your database into a continuous, recorded timeline — whether it’s a replica set or a sharded cluster,
any single time slice can be pulled out with precision.

NOW

20:00
Recovery Point · 14:32:07
08:00
Yesterday
Retention edge

Any second within the retention window can be restored


The Neglected Last Line of Defense

Your backup might just be a security blanket

For most teams, “backup” means a scheduled mongodump job dropping files into object storage. It satisfies the checklist. It rarely survives an actual disaster
drill — until the day you realize the question was never “do we have a backup,” but “can we restore to that
exact second.”


Backups “look like” they’re running on schedule, but no one has ever verified they can actually be restored

After an accidental delete, the nearest recoverable point turns out to be “last night,” not “five minutes
ago”

In a sharded cluster, each shard backs itself up independently — the restored data doesn’t line up across
shards

01 · How It Works

A backup shouldn’t be a point. It should be a line.

Traditional backup is fundamentally a series of interval snapshots — whatever happens between them is left
to chance. WAP starts from a full snapshot and continuously appends the incremental oplog, turning backup
into an unbroken timeline.

Continuous Real-Time Backup

Both replica sets and sharded clusters get uninterrupted, real-time backup — not isolated snapshots hours
apart.

Point-in-Time Recovery

Full snapshot plus incremental log, stitched together to restore your cluster to any precise second in the
past.

Cross-Shard Consistency

WAP coordinates backup timestamps across every shard and the config server, restoring an internally
consistent cluster snapshot.

Policy-Based Configuration

Set a backup policy once — retention period, frequency, and storage target are all handled by automation
from there.

Full Snapshot

Any Point in Time

The incremental oplog keeps flowing — any time slice can be located and restored with precision

02 · Replica Sets & Sharded Clusters

Consistency is the real challenge

Point-in-time recovery is nothing new for a replica set. The real challenge is a sharded cluster — if each
shard backs up on its own schedule, the restored data can come from different time slices, and the
application sees an internally inconsistent dataset.

✕ Manual Backups · Every Shard for Itself

Shards A, B, and C are backed up at misaligned timestamps — the restored data can’t be reassembled into
one coherent cluster state

✓ WAP · Cross-Shard Consistent Recovery

Every shard and the config server are aligned to the exact same time slice — the restore is a whole,
internally consistent cluster

03 · The Time Machine

Drag it. That’s the restore.

Configure a backup policy once, and automation takes it from there. When something goes wrong, just pick a
point on the timeline — WAP locates the nearest full snapshot and replays every incremental log after it to
complete a precise restore.

00:00
06:00
14:32:07
20:00
NOW

The restore process is read-only against the original cluster — live writes are never interrupted

PITR Demo

Point-in-Time Recovery in Action

Automated backup policy + one-click rollback, safeguarding business continuity.

Ready?

Don’t let backup be the one

feature you never tested

From continuous snapshots to cross-shard consistent recovery, Whaleal Platform’s backup module turns a
security blanket into a last line of defense that actually works.